About us
The research group Histories of Art, Architecture and Visual Culture (VISU) offers a platform for fundamental research on the history and theory of art, architecture and visual culture from the early modern period up to the present. We study not only the artistic and architectural practice, the material object and the spatial environment, but also the broader cultural, historical and societal context, which often relates to current themes such as new media, visualisation of conflict and war, urbanisation, sustainability, multiculturality and globalisation. Key questions concern the circulation of images, artefacts, practices and knowledge across boundaries. These cross-overs are understood as mutual interactions between the different arts and as exchanges between different cultures, traditions, regions or periods.
Recent News
VISU at the Renaissance Society of America conference 2025
We are excited to share that Pieter Martens, Caterina Cardamone and Alicia Rojas Costa hosted a panel "Images of Flanders in Renaissance Florence" at the Renaissance Society of America (RSA) conference on Saturday 22 March 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Call for papers: Jaarcongres Werkgroep Zeventiende Eeuw Familie, verwantschap en dynastie
Call for papers voor Jaarcongres Werkgroep Zeventiende Eeuw Familie, september 2025. Dit jaarcongres richt zich op dynastieke systemen en praktijken.
"Every Film is Political"
On 2 March, the Oscars will be awarded, and according to the British newspaper The Guardian, this year’s nominations are the most political ever. Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans is also pleasantly surprised by the selection.
Events
Practical info-Eva Vandormael receives Beherman award on 17 June 2025
VUB Art History student Eva Vandormael receives the Thierry Stanley Beherman award for her master thesis Atypical Witchcraft Imagery in Bruegel’s Witch of Mallegem. This prize is awarded annually to the best master’s thesis in early modern art of the VUB and ULB.
Practical info-Lecture: "Modes and Approaches to Global Art History/Geohistory of Art" by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann
On June 20, 2025, distinguished art historian Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Frederick Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, will present a lecture on Modes and Approaches to Global Art History/Geohistory of Art.
Practical info-Seminar: "Moment 8" organised by University of Gothenburg
Moment 8 is a one day seminar in Gothenburg that explores lens-based representations of migration in Sweden from 1939 to the 1970s—a period of change, labor migration, and global movements. During this seminar Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans will present her research on "Artistic interventions into migration histories through vernacular lens media images."
